I’m 17 years old and I have painful periods. Is this normal or do I have any type of disease?

Mild discomfort during your period can be normal, but if your periods are so painful that you’re missing school as well as social events, and/or taking pain medication frequently to control the pain, you may have a condition called endometriosis. Keep a diary of your pain/discomfort and other symptoms for a few menstrual cycles then review your cycles with your health care provider. Based on your symptoms, your health care provider may consider if you have endometriosis; but the only way to diagnose “endo” for sure is to have a procedure called a laparoscopy.

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The Center for Young Women’s Health (CYWH) is a collaboration between the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine and the Division of Gynecology at Boston Children’s
Hospital. The Center is an educational entity that exists to provide teen girls and young women with carefully researched health information, health education programs, and conferences.